Rep. Trent Franks: Blacks Better Off Under Slavery

February 26, 2010 3:22 pm ET
- by Walid Zafar

Arizona Congressman Trent Franks told blogger Mike Stark
that African Americans were much better off under slavery. Franks, the most
conservative member of the Republican caucus, who has in the past called
the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade
decision "the greatest holocaust in the history of mankind," is not new to
conspiracy and bigotry.

Last October for example, Franks accused a prominent
Muslim advocacy group of "trying to infiltrate the offices of members
of Congress by placing interns in the offices." Franks, an on-again,
off-again
birther, has called president Obama "un-American," accused him of going
"against American interests" and even called him "an
enemy of humanity." His comments to
Stark, as repulsive and abhorrent as they are, seem to be consistent with the
reactionary mindset that some on the right hold.

FRANKS: In this
country, we had slavery for God knows how long.
And now we look back on it and we say "How blind were they? What was the
matter with them? You know, I can't
believe, you know, four million slaves.
This is incredible." And we're
right, we're right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America's
soul. And yet today, half of all black
children are aborted. Half of all black
children are aborted. Far more of the
African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than
were being devastated by the policies of slavery.
And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?